...
"So..." Dugu Yan swallowed hard, "The Pope wants to kill you and take your bones, and then Qian Renxue from the Heavenly Dou Empire holds a knife to your throat, needing your help to seize the country.
All these years... you've actually been under such terrifying pressure, navigating this precarious situation, constantly shifting your allegiance and maneuvering between these two forces?!"
"Oh, it's not as dangerous or tragic as you all imagine."
Seeing that their imaginations were getting more and more outrageous, Xuan Hao quickly waved his hand and clarified, "Actually, my teacher was very good to me. When I ran away with the 100,000-year soul ring, she was indeed furious at first.
But after she calmed down, she forgave me out of consideration for our teacher-student relationship and never thought of killing me to take my bones."
"However, the power struggle between the Elder Hall and the Pope Hall within the Spirit Hall is quite troublesome.
Since I have already successfully made such a name for myself in Heaven Dou City, and even infiltrated the inner circle of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and Dugu Bo, my teacher thought, 'Why not use this opportunity?'
So he simply let me stay here as a hidden pawn."
Xuan Hao pointed to Na'er, who was standing quietly to the side:
"Over the years, I would occasionally find an excuse to disappear from Tian Dou City for a period of time.
In reality, I wasn't going to some hidden family to cultivate in seclusion.
I was just secretly running back to Wu Hun City to report to my teacher and get a few scoldings along the way.
Na'er has always known about this."
Faced with the unanimous questioning gazes of the crowd, Na'er nodded obediently and testified softly, "What my brother said is true.
His Holiness the Pope really dotes on my brother, and you could even say that he is raising him like his own son."
"Moreover, my brother is already the Papal Palace's chosen successor as the next 'Holy Son.'
Even the Elders' Hall, which has always been at odds with the Papal Palace, has been impressed by my brother's talent and unanimously approved the decision.
Once the Heaven Dou Empire's plan to seize the country is finalized, my brother will be officially announced to the world and established as the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall."
"..."
An eerie silence fell over the room once again.
Ning Rongrong and the others looked at each other, and suddenly a terrifying chain of logic came to mind.
Pope Bibi Dong doted on him like her own son, and designated him as the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall; while Qian Renxue, the future "Emperor" of the Heaven Dou Empire, not only relied on him extremely, but also fell hopelessly in love with him, and just now she even rode on his back...
This means... in a sense, regardless of whether this plan to seize the country succeeds or not, the future Spirit Hall, the Heaven Dou Empire, and even the supreme rule of this vast Douluo Continent will ultimately fall into the hands of Xuan Hao, this unreliable troublemaker!
As long as Xuan Hao lies comfortably and maintains his current "winner-takes-all" status as a kept man, he will be the biggest and undisputed ultimate beneficiary in this unprecedented upheaval on the continent!
However, just as this ambitious and shocking conclusion was taking shape in everyone's minds, the girls looked at Xuan Hao, who was sprawled on the sofa without any regard for his image and was even picking at his fingers, and they all sighed inwardly.
They knew Xuan Hao's character all too well.
Although this guy is as domineering as an ancient tyrant when fighting, he is absolutely a lazy bum at heart.
He doesn't like the tiring life of being above everyone else and reviewing memorials every day, and he has absolutely no interest in worldly imperial power.
What power to be the greatest in the world, what dominance to last a thousand years mean?
In Xuan Hao's eyes, it's probably not as worthwhile as having a luxurious meal at the best restaurant in Tian Dou City that night.
If one had to pinpoint what was so fatally attractive about the supreme throne of "Emperor" or "Holy Son" to him...
Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance, both seeing the speechlessness and resignation in each other's eyes.
The only attraction of that position for him was probably, possibly, absolutely—that he could legitimately and without any imperial laws or worldly moral constraints... open a harem and then arrogantly bestow titles of nobility, imperial nobility, or even empress upon these beautiful female rogues one by one.
Everyone was speechless when they saw Xuan Hao's handsome face that looked so irritating.
After all... such a depraved and extremely lecherous initial intention is something that Xuan Hao is really capable of doing!
Looking at the group of girls with their varied expressions and rich inner monologues, Xuan Hao coughed lightly, pulling their wandering thoughts back to reality.
He dropped his previous nonchalant, lazy demeanor, and his expression became extremely serious and solemn again: "
Alright, enough joking.
The reason I'm taking such a big risk today to tell you this top secret that could shake the entire continent is that I hope everyone can truly calm down."
"When facing Xue Qinghe, or rather, when facing Qian Renxue, you don't need to do anything.
Don't test her, don't expose her identity, and don't even give her the slightest strange look.
We just need to continue as before, eating and drinking as usual."
"As for those other troublesome matters concerning the survival of the empire and the infighting among power, I will take full responsibility for them and resolve them myself."
"You'll solve it? How will you solve it"?
Ning Rongrong bit her lip, her eyes filled with worry.
"That's a deadly situation between the two great empires and the Spirit Hall! Once it erupts, it'll be a meat grinder!"
"That's why I try my best to reduce conflict and forcibly nip the source of killing in the bud."
Xuan Hao stood up from the sofa, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at the bustling night view of Tian Dou City.
"Why? Because of my current dual identity, my irreplaceable and transcendent status, and even more so because of my... absolute strength that can crush everything!"
He turned around and looked at everyone.
"Do you really think that when I created that world-destroying 'blood energy bomb' at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, even at the cost of depleting my own blood energy, it was just to show off or simply to vent my anger?"
"Wrong, that's establishing authority! It's absolute strategic deterrence!"
"In this Douluo Continent where strength reigns supreme, if I only possess powerful individual combat abilities, like the Sword Douluo or my teacher, people might be wary of me, or even fear me, but that's far from enough!"
"Because no matter how strong an individual is, it cannot face thousands of troops at the same time.
Those ambitious people hiding behind the scenes will still see an opportunity and will still launch wars for their own benefit."
"Only when I demonstrate that unreasonable, destructive power, only when I possess the terrifying deterrent force to single-handedly overturn the entire chessboard and destroy everyone... will those guys blinded by power and ambition truly feel fear and obediently sit down to listen to me!"
"Close your eyes and think about it."
"If one day I possess the ability to easily destroy the Heaven Dou Imperial City, level the Star Luo Imperial City, or even smash the Spirit City as easily as crushing an ant... then I would be nothing more than a doomsday meteor that could fall at any moment in front of those so-called million-strong armies!"
"In the face of such an absolute and indiscriminate threat of death, would there still be such a ridiculous thing as 'war' on this continent?"
"As long as I don't allow it, neither the emperors of the two great empires nor the Pope of the Spirit Hall... who the hell would dare to cross the line?!
Who would dare to start a war?!"
These words were a wake-up call, like heavy hammer blows striking the hearts of every girl.
At that moment, looking at Xuan Hao standing by the window, they finally realized.
It turned out that this seemingly irresponsible and frivolous troublemaker actually harbored such a grand and insane "nuclear deterrence peace" plan!
He wasn't trying to please everyone; he was going to use his terrifying power, enough to destroy the world, to force all the ambitious people who wanted to start a war to stay firmly at the negotiating table!
Seeing the girls' utterly shocked expressions, Xuan Hao's cold and domineering aura instantly vanished, and he reverted to the familiar, even somewhat annoying, Xuan Hao.
He walked back to the sofa, reached out and ruffled Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu's hair, his voice becoming extremely gentle and reassuring:
"So, you can rest assured.
You don't need to bear these heavy burdens. Whether it's the Spirit Hall or Qian Renxue, I will handle everything properly."
"Your only task now is to cultivate diligently and enjoy life.
If the sky falls, I'm tall and thick-skinned enough to hold it up for you."
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